Thursday, September 13, 2012

News U Can Use: "Back to School-Body Shaming"

It’s
back to school time, and you know what that means: back to body shaming
time. For all the insecure, body-conscious teenage girls out there, Seventeen
magazine comes to the rescue by telling them what’s truly important
this school year: being “pretty.” Yep, forget about message like, love
your body no matter what size it is or how to navigate the gross food in
the cafeteria and eat healthy, Seventeen instead chooses to send the message that the way you look is what will earn you the highest grade (with the boys, of course).

Take a look at their back-to-school issue here. The biggest feature
is “825 ways to look pretty” because that is of utmost importance. I say
that sarcastically, but unfortunately, thanks to our media, it has
become of utmost importance to many teenage girls. They are constantly
bombarded with messages that tell them society values them most based on
how they look. And giving them “825 Ways to Look Pretty” is only
perpetuating that untruth. Not that there’s anything wrong with being
pretty or wanting to feel pretty, but how about incorporating that in a
more body-positive manner? Like, how to feel beautiful about your body,
no matter what size or shape it is. Or, how to embrace the true beauty
in everyone. Or, how to stop focusing on superficial qualities and start
focusing on more important inner qualities.

Instead, Seventeen goes on to feature other articles for
back-to-school like, “Shiny Hair, Perfect Skin by Your First Day of
School” and “Get Everything You Want This Year–Great Body, Tons of $$$,
Amazing Clothes.” No wonder young women today have such body image
issues. We (society) are telling them that that’s what’s most important!

Instead of reading these headlines as the superficial messages that
they are, girls are likely walking away with the notion that everything
about them is wrong. Their hair is gross, their skin is a mess, their
wardrobe is hideous and their body is too fat, too thin, too whatever.
So they must fix all of that and buy this magazine which will surely
make them perfect and pretty once they discover all 825 ways to do so.
It’s shameful, isn’t it?

Seventeen‘s sister site, CosmoGirl, is not any better. If you look at their site,
they feature similar senseless articles like: “30 Days of
Back-to-School Outfits, Awesome Hair Ideas for School, Stars’ Favorite
Fragrances, What to Wear to Every School Event, Reader’s Favorite Beauty
Products and Fall’s Hottest Guys”. Granted, they do feature a somewhat
healthy fitness story that’s entitled, “Work Out Like a Star,” but if
you click on it, it’s all about how to burn calories and how to wear
more chic, stylish clothes to the gym.

This crap is seriously messing with females today. Instead of feeling
confident and secure, we are left questioning our looks and our bodies.
It’s offensive and damaging. So girls and women everywhere, here is my
number one tip on how to “look pretty”: go for a run and then look in
the mirror. See that sweaty face? That glow? That sense of
I-just-kicked-some-major-***? That’s pretty.